2020
Arduino-Based Radio Technology System for Bird Protection
Wind Farm Application Approach
Kiran Kumar Golla Raashita Gullipalli
Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Blekinge Institute of Technology
SE–371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden
Electrical Engineering. The thesis is equivalent to 12 weeks and 400 hours (each) of full-time studies.
Contact Information:
Authors:
Kiran Kumar Golla
E-mail: kigl19@student.bth.se Raashita Gullipalli
E-mail: ragl19@student.bth.se University Supervisor:
Prof. Wlodek J. Kulesza
Dept. Mathematics and Nature Sciences E-mail: wlodek.kulesza@bth.se
Company Supervisor:
Damian Dziak
E-mail: damian.dziak@bioseco.com Address of the Company:
Bioseco Sp. z o. o. 68, Budowlanych Street, 80-298,Gdańsk,Poland.
Context. The wind power is an impeccable source of power and it has been used by people throughout the history. The wind power generation is becoming more important due to less disadvantages compared to other sources of energy, as it does not have to deal with air pollution in order to produce energy. The wind power industry faces a considerable expansion in the near future. The impact of the wind power industry on the ecosystem is comparatively less than other sources of power, but the impact on the avian fauna is high and not negligible. Researchers estimate that almost 140,000 to 328,000 birds are killed every year in collisions with the turbines’ spinning rotor blades and support towers.
In order to prevent the bird collision with the wind turbines, many possible methods using different technologies have been proposed.
Objectives. The purpose of the thesis is to analyse the possible technologies which could be used to prevent the collision of the rare avian creatures with the wind turbines. Based on performed analysis the system for detection of the bird from the far distance and monitoring its position, flight and the vicinity from the wind turbine will be designed. The main aim is to detect the bird’s position from a range of 300 m to 500 m away from the windmill, in order to predict the probability of the bird’s collision with the wind turbine.
Methods. In this research, a system is to be designed and implemented that can be used for detecting birds from a long range. The system is built with the help of LoRa (Long-Range) transceiver modules as a transmitter beacon and a receiver beacon which are separated by a long distance. The transmitter is attached to the bird and the receiver beacon is fixed to the windmill. Whenever a bird arrives into the 500 m radius, a signal is passed from the transmitter to the receiver and hence the receiver detects the bird. This information is transferred to the user via a mobile application, which is designed to display the web view of the web interface. When the bird reaches the 100 m radius an alert signal is passed, indicated by the buzzer, showing that the bird is in danger.
Results. The distance of the bird from the windmill is estimated by the strength of the received signal, in technical terms it is called RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator). If the bird is away from the windmill, the signal strength would be low, as the distance between the transmitter and receiver is high and vice-versa. The data related to the bird is sent to the user via a mobile application which eases the bird monitoring remotely.
the bird and sending the data to the remote user via the web interface and mobile application. Also, the possible technologies have been analysed, which could be used to prevent the bird’s collision with the windmill. But, this method fails to receive multiple data at the same time and we could detect a single bird at a time. Moreover, we conclude that there is a need for further research and validation of the models in the industry trials.
Keywords: Avian fauna, Beacon, Bird detection, LoRa (Long-Range), Windmill.
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We would like to express our sincere thanks to our Supervisor, Prof.
Wlodek J. Kulesza and our Company Supervisor, Damian Dziak, for their valuable guidance and encouragement throughout thesis. This would not have been possible without their timely and constructive suggestions.
Finally, we would like to convey our heartfelt thanks to our loving friends and family for their support and encouragement.
This research was funded by a grant "The completion of R&D works leading to the implementation of MULTIREJESTRATOR PLUS, a new solution for monitoring and controlling the power system to in- crease the operating efficiency, extend the service life and optimise the environmental impact of wind farms." (No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0247/17) from The National Centre for Research and Development of Poland.
Authors:
Kiran Kumar Golla Raashita Gullipalli
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Abstract i
Acknowledgements iii
List of Tables vi
List of Figures vii
1 Introduction 1
2 Survey of Related Works 4
2.1 Significance of Windmills . . . 4
2.2 Possible Technologies for Animal Monitoring . . . 5
2.3 Radio Frequency Object Detection . . . 7
3 Problem Statement, Objectives and Main Contributions 12 3.1 Problem Statement . . . 12
3.2 Objectives . . . 12
3.3 Main Contributions . . . 13
4 Design and Modelling 15 4.1 User Driven Design . . . 16
4.2 Model of the System . . . 18
4.2.1 Block Diagram . . . 18
4.2.2 Solution Flowchart . . . 19
4.3 Background of Distance Measurement with RSSI . . . 21
5 Implementation 23 5.1 Schematic Diagram . . . 23
5.2 Prototyping . . . 24
5.3 System Components . . . 28
5.4 LoRa . . . 31
5.5 Method of Code . . . 34
5.6 RSSI Measurement . . . 35
5.7 Web Interface . . . 36 iv
6 Validation 42 6.1 Method . . . 42 6.2 Experiment with Final Measurements . . . 43
7 Conclusions and Future Work 49
References 50
v
4.1 User Driven Design table for bird monitoring using radio technology. 17 5.1 Arduino Uno specifications [44]. . . 28 5.2 Technical specifications of REYAX RYLR896 LoRa module [37] . 34 6.1 The results of the experiment in tabular form . . . 47
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1.1 Birds colliding with wind turbine rotor . . . 2
2.1 An illustration of infrared camera . . . 5
2.2 An illustration of light detection and ranging module . . . 6
2.3 An illustration of RFID receiver . . . 8
2.4 An illustration of GPS module . . . 9
2.5 An illustration of Bluetooth transmitter beacon . . . 10
2.6 An illustration of LoRa transceiver modules . . . 11
4.1 An illustration of Internet of Things working flow . . . 16
4.2 A flowchart of the design methodology in general . . . 17
4.3 Block diagram including transmitter and receiver . . . 19
4.4 Flowchart representing the workflow of the bird monitoring system 20 5.1 The schematic diagram of transmitter for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology . . . 23
5.2 The schematic diagram of receiver for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology . . . 24
5.3 The circuit diagram of transmitter for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology. . . 25
5.4 The circuit diagram of receiver for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology. . . 26
5.5 Implemented circuit with transmitter and receiver. . . 27
5.6 An illustration of Arduino Uno . . . 29
5.7 An illustration of piezoelectric buzzer . . . 29
5.8 An illustration of ESP8266 WiFi module. . . 30
5.9 An illustration of Light Emitting Diodes . . . 31
5.10 An illustration of REYAX RYLR896 LoRa transceiver module . . 32
5.11 An illustration of LoRa module with dimensions in mm. . . 33
5.12 Case1- When no bird is detected. . . 37
5.13 Case2- When bird is detected and is 500 m away from the windmill. 38 5.14 Case3- When bird is detected and is 150 m away from the windmill. 38 5.15 App description . . . 40
5.16 User-Login . . . 40
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6.1 Received signal on the Arduino Serial Monitor for CASE-1. . . 45 6.2 Received signal on the Arduino Serial Monitor for CASE-2. . . 46 6.3 Received signal on the Arduino Serial Monitor for CASE-3. . . 46
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Introduction
Wind power has been used by people throughout the history and even today is consider as a remarkable source of power. The wind energy is widely used as it has many advantages. It is pollution-free, as it does not have to deal with combustion of fossil fuels which emit particulate matter into the air and cause pol- lution. In 21st century, wind power generation is becoming increasingly important and the wind power industry faces a considerable expansion within the near future.
The environmental impact of wind power is relatively minor when compared to that of fossil fuel power but the impact on the avian creatures is high and it is not negligible. Due to this, avian creatures probably would be killed or affected negatively to large extent. The wind farms may cause large damage to flora and fauna when the wind farms are set up then there is a high probability of deforestation and habitat loss for different kinds of animals and birds. The probability of birds colliding with a wind turbine is high. To prevent collisions of birds in future, or to evaluate the number of bird victims at existent wind farms, assessments are made of collision rates of birds with wind turbines. The chance that a given bird flying through a wind farm will collide with a turbine, depends on several factors such as location and layout of the wind farm, landscape features, behaviour and morphology of the species. To avoid the risk of birds being affected by the wind farms, several methods were proposed [1].
Many studies and research procedures have been performed in various countries about the bird mortality in the wind farm. According to the studies related to ornithology, while flying, most of the birds look down for the prey instead of looking ahead. This is on the important reasons behind their strike with the wind turbine blades. There is a greater risk of collision with taller wind turbines than the smaller wind turbines. Researchers estimate that wind farms are responsible for about 0.3 bird deaths for every 1 GWh of electricity generated, compared with 5.2 deaths per 1 GWh caused by fossil-fuelled power stations [2]. However, there are many kinds of retrofits that wind farm companies are trying to make wind turbines better for birds [3].
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Figure 1.1: Birds colliding with wind turbine rotor Source: "Adapted from Renewable.net" [4]
This thesis work has been done in collaboration with a company, "Bioseco", which provides solutions for bird protection. "Bioseco was established in April 2013 by a team of optical, radar and computer specialists to develop a system that monitors and protects birds in different locations like wind farms, airports and terrains" [5].
The purpose of the thesis is to design and develop a radio frequency technology system where the frequency emitter device (transmitter beacon) would be attached to the bird and the receiver beacon or the detector is placed on the wind turbine for the bird identification. The main idea of the project, is to detect a bird within the range of 300 meters to 500 meters radius from the wind turbine. This can be possible by using many radio frequency technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification and Ranging (RFID). It consists of receiver and transmitter modules which works on the principle of Radio frequency transmission, where transmitter consists of an antenna and the receiver consists of a unique identification code.
Bird Monitoring can also be possible by using WiFi. The use of WiFi signal is not only as an information carrier, but this WiFi signal can also be used to track the moving object behind the wall or in a close room. To recognize moving object through a wall, the WiFi signal is transmitted in the direction of wall, similarly, this technology can be used for bird monitoring.
LoRa Technology can be considered to be one of the best possible technologies which uses radio frequency and can be used in bird detection near the wind tur- bine [6]. The RFID, Bluetooth module and LoRa work similarly. The transmitter, which emits radio frequencies would be attached to the bird and these frequencies are received by the signal receiver which would be fixed on the wind turbine. If the signal with the certain strength is received by the receiver, that means, the bird has arrived into the 500 meter radius. LoRa module is preferred over other technologies due to its long-range up to 10 km. These LoRa transceiver modules, which emit radio frequency shall protect the big birds living in the vicinity of the wind farm from wind turbine strike.
Sequence of contents in the report
• The main goal is to implement the bird protection system using radio technology and Arduino. The procedure is elaborately discussed in this section.
• The importance of wind power and its effects on the environment have been discussed in the Introduction section, emphasizing on the effect of wind power on the avian fauna.
• Section 2 deals with the Survey of Related Work, where many possible technologies with the similar aim of bird detection have been mentioned.
Various research papers have been cited in this section where the authors have stated different types of technologies which could be used in bird protection systems.
• The third section consists of the Problem Statement, Objectives and Main Contributions. In this section, the basic overview of the project is mentioned and have emphasised on why this project has been chosen, the main aim of it, and how it would be useful to the environment is discussed.
• Section 4 deals with the Modelling part of the project. This section focuses mainly on the key elements required and describes the work flow of the project. Most importantly, the User Driven Design is shown and the method of distance calculation and measurements using the RSSI value is explained.
• The procedure and the step by step method on how the project has been implemented successfully is mentioned in Section 5. It deals with the schematic diagram, system model, circuit diagram, block diagram, elements of the components etc for the better understanding of the project.
• The Validation of the project including the final measurements of the experiment and the reference values have been mentioned in Section 6. In the experiment, the RSSI values of the LoRa receiver beacon have been observed at different distances such as beyond 500 m, at 500 m and at 150 m.
• Finally, Section 7 gives the conclusion and also the future work on how the project could be modified further is explained.
Survey of Related Works
2.1 Significance of Windmills
A wind turbine is a device that converts wind kinetic energy into electricity.
Wind turbines are manufactured in with two main design categories: vertical and horizontal axis [7]. The horizontal-axis turbine has a three-blade vertical propeller whereas, the vertical turbine has a set of blades that spins around a vertical axis.
The smaller turbines are used for battery charging for auxiliary power, and larger turbines can be used for a domestic power supply [1]. Wind farms are becoming an increasingly important source of intermittent renewable energy resource and are used by many countries as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. In contrast to fossil power plants that rely on the combustion of fuels, such as coal or natural gas, wind power is sustainable and very cost-effective. Wind farms are in remote locations for the abundant wind resource [8].
However, the main disadvantage of the wind farms is avian mortality. The increase of death rate of aviary creatures such as birds and bats has become the most challenging problem last years. Many studies and research procedures have been performed in various countries about the bird mortality in the wind farm.
According to the studies related to ornithology, while flying, most of the birds look down for the prey instead of looking ahead [9]. This is the most important reason behind their strike with the wind turbine blades.
There is a greater risk of collision with taller wind turbines than the smaller wind turbines, as larger wind turbines may provide more efficient energy genera- tion [10]. With the expansion of the wind power industry in the near future, it is expected to contain even bigger and taller wind turbines, and it is probably unavoidable to decrease the rate of bird mortality [11]. Researchers estimate that wind farms are responsible for about 0.3 bird deaths for every 1 GWh of electricity generated, compared with 5.2 deaths per 1 GWh caused by fossil-fuelled power stations [9].
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2.2 Possible Technologies for Animal Monitoring
There are various possible technologies for object detection and animal monitoring.
Some of them are based on cameras and the others use sound or radio frequencies.
Infrared camera
An infrared camera is a non-contact device that detects infrared energy (heat) and converts it into an electronic signal, which is then processed to produce a thermal image on a video monitor and perform temperature calculations. Thermal imaging cameras are excellent tools for night vision as they detect thermal radiation.
Thermal images are characterized with a significantly lower signal-to-noise ratio comparing to ordinary daylight images [12]. An infrared camera is shown in Figure 2.1. There are many applications of the thermal imaging in avian science.
The IF technology can also be used to detect birds and it has also shown greater success in detection of their flight paths and migration.
Figure 2.1: An illustration of infrared camera
"Adapted from Seed studio the IoT hardware enabler" [13] [14]
The main advantage of thermal imaging is that even when the scene is poorly illuminated or not illuminated at all thermal detector can sense the target. This is due to the difference of the amount of thermal radiation. Thus the use of an infrared camera in mammal detection would be easier as the temperature of the mammal is much higher, which could be detected through the thermal radiation.
Unfortunately this solution cannot be used always as it becomes challenging with mammals living in the colder climatic conditions. Sometimes, the body temper- ature of the animal is much colder, then it becomes difficult to distinguish the animal from the background as it does not produce any thermal radiations [15].
LiDAR
LiDAR stands for light detection and ranging and is an optical remote-sensing technique that uses a pulsed laser to sample the surroundings. Unlike most sensors that detect the energy emitted from an object, LiDAR is an active sensor and emits its own energy as shown in Figure 2.2 [16]. LiDAR assembly generally consists of a laser, photo detector, scanner and optics, a position and navigation like GPS. In the working mechanism of this technology, usually, a beam of light is fired from a known elevation and angle and when the light returns to the sensors in the LiDAR assembly, the time of flight of the laser and the round-trip time is measured.
Figure 2.2: An illustration of light detection and ranging module source "Adapted from Spark Electronics" [17] [18]
LiDAR technology is being used to implement the self driving technology with computer vision using the LiDAR U-Net Model. Currently, the highest performing algorithms for object detection from LiDAR measurements are based on neural networks. LiDAR assemblies are used in the agriculture industry to spray fertilizers in particular areas. They are also used for animal monitoring [19] or even archaeology surveys [20]. The LiDAR technology and digital aerial imaging can be used to estimate the flight and altitude of the bird [21].
Vision System and Machine Learning
Machine learning programs like TensorFlow, OpenCV, NumPy are used for real-time object detection [22]. Usually object detection with machine learning platforms are performed with the computer camera. Cameras included with micro computers like Raspberry Pi and Arduino can be used as well [10]. To start off, Packages in python are to be installed.
OpenCV 3 is to be used with Python 3. Whereas, NumPy is a library that makes it easy to perform array operations in Python. The only drawback of Raspberry Pi is, the frame rate on Raspberry Pi is too slow as it requires a lot of processing power and Raspberry Pi is not powerful enough. So, a camera is added to the Raspberry Pi which captures and reads the images [23] [24]. But factors such as the resolution, analysed image size and the programming language greatly affect in order to achieve a better frame rate and a smoother object detection.
2.3 Radio Frequency Object Detection
The radio technology is the one of the possible methods used for bird monitoring.
In order to protect the birds from colliding with the wind turbine blade, the blade rotation is stopped when the bird enters into the radius of radio frequency from the wind turbine.
Although there are huge number of different technologies developed for object detection and tracking for the fauna, there is still a limited number of solutions in field of long range wireless communication with beacons for animal and bird moni- toring from remote locations. The possible radio technologies are mentioned below.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Ranging
The RFID consists of a receiver and a sender which works on the principle of radio frequency transmission between sender and receiver, where sender consists of antenna and the receiver is assigned a unique identification code.
The RFID is classified into various categories based on its purpose such as Low Frequency (LF), High Frequency (HF), Ultra High Frequency (UHF) etc. These RFID systems operate in the range of 30 kHz to 300 kHz, and have a read range of up to 10 cm. HF systems operate in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz range and provides reading distances of 10 cm to 1 m whereas the UHF systems have a frequency range between 300 MHz and 3 GHz, and they offer read ranges up to 25 m. The classification is done on the basis of frequency in which RFID system operates. In case of RFID tag both the receiver and tag emits frequency, which work in the
highest possible radio frequency range [25]. In case of bird monitoring, the active RFID which used UHF need to be used, with approximately 2.4 GHz frequency, which offers up to 400 m-700 m read range, making it suitable for the bird de- tection from long range. An illustration of the RFID receiver is shown in Figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3: An illustration of RFID receiver
source: MR3002A-11 RFID Active Reader-1-1-1, Adapted from Global sources.com [26] [27].
Object Monitoring using WiFi
The use of WiFi signal is not only as an information carrier; these WiFi signals can also be used to track the moving object behind the wall or can say in a close room. To recognize moving object through wall the WiFi signal is transmitted in the direction of wall [3].
The radar community developed a system named Ultra-Wide band (UWB) radar. This system detects human behind the wall and shows moving blobs in output screen To overcome the drawbacks of this system two new system were developed named WI-VI and WI-SEE. These both systems use WiFi signal to recognize the moving object behind the wall. WI-SEE system works on the Doppler shift principle, for the human gesture it gives the different Doppler pattern according to the movement of any human. On the other hand Wi-Vi(Wireless Vision) system also use WiFi signals to recognize the moving object behind the wall, this system use the nulling technique to remove the flash effect. This system not require large antenna array, it only need three small antenna MI-MO radio interface. Flash effect term refers to the reflection from the entire stationary object behind the wall rather than just wall, which is much stronger than the reflection
from the object inside the closed rooms [28].
Global Positioning System (GPS)
The GPS is a radio navigation device used to locate by using the satellites.
When the satellites are four or more then the device is located and the information is obtained. A GPS module is shown in Figure 2.4. The GPS does not require the user to transmit any data. It operates independently of any telephonic or internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS positioning information. GPS is the most widely used and can be found in devices weighing about 1 g upwards. The smallest devices only store the data and do not transmit them (so-called archival tags) so the bird needs to be re-caught to download the data. The mass production and miniaturisation of GPS technology has brought the cost down allowing large samples of birds to be tracked [29].
Figure 2.4: An illustration of GPS module source: "Adapted from Indiamart.com" [30] [31].
The GPS trackers are used to track the location for the animal. Their main advantage is that they provide a relatively lightweight, low-cost alternative to traditional tracking technologies and, consequently, have allowed significant ad- vances in the study of small bird species. The disadvantage is, geo locators must be retrieved to download data, and so are only useful for easily recaptured species exhibiting high site-fidelity, and that their location accuracy, ranging from 50 km up to 200 km, is low [32].
Bluetooth module
In today’s wireless ecosystem, Bluetooth enabled devices are in demand. The Bluetooth technology is a versatile technology with an endless array of possible applications. A Bluetooth device uses radio waves instead of wires or cables to connect cell phone or computer.
Basically, when Bluetooth-enabled devices are close enough, they can connect with each other and exchange data through a tiny computer chip inside them which emits the the radio waves. Bluetooth 4.0 and above provide a long range of connectivity, which is perfect for detection of animals. Bluetooth technology is used in various platforms including the object/animal detection, blind assis- tive systems for people with visual disabilities, and also for obstacle detection in robots [33]. An illustration of Bluetooth transmitter beacon is shown in Figure 2.5.
Figure 2.5: An illustration of Bluetooth transmitter beacon source: "Adapted from Hackster.io" [34] [35]
LoRa (Long-Range)
To provide low-energy and long range communication, Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) solutions like LoRa, SigFox and NB-IoT are used. LoRa has attracted the interest of researchers as it is an open standard, which contributes in the low power and long range communication. It is based on spread spectrum modulation techniques derived from Chip Spread Spectrum (CSS) technology [6].
An illustration of LoRa transceiver module is shown in Figure 2.6.
The LoRa uses three types of license-free sub-gigahertz radio frequency bands like 433 MHz, 868 MHz (for Europe), 915 MHz (for Australia and North America) and 923 MHz (for Asia). The LoRa modules are compatible with micro controllers like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, which expands the scope of IoT projects using the
LoRa Module. The LoRa Module such as REYAX-RYLR 896, provide connectivity up to 10 km range.
Figure 2.6: An illustration of LoRa transceiver modules source: "Adapted from kliteelectronics.com" [36] [37].
Various deployments of LoRa technology include reindeer tracking in Finland, smart parking, autonomous irrigation and soil health monitoring, cotton farming in Australia, smart fire alarms and fire detection etc.
Problem Statement, Objectives and Main Contributions
3.1 Problem Statement
As per the review of related work, there is a lack of long-range communication beacon solution, which could be able to communicate directly with a labelled bird in order to protect the bird from colliding with the windmill. The suitable technology is to be selected to fulfill the specifications such as bird detection at 500 m radius and sending an Alert signal at 150 m radius. The purpose of this project is the prevention of bird mortality due to their collision with the rotor blades of the wind turbine.
This engineering thesis includes analysis of the different possible technologies, which could be used to design the Bird Detection and Deterrent system, which can be used in the wind farms to prevent the bird mortality. This project solves the main challenges involved in the effect of wind turbines on birds and bats.
This project also deals with the analysis of the possible technologies, which could detect the bird from a long range and also designing and developing a system using radio frequency technology. Also partially working on the bird deterrent systems using strobe lights and alarm sounds when the bird is detected in order to avoid collision with the wind turbine.
In this project, we design and develop a system, which uses LoRa (Long-Range) communication technology. It uses radio frequency signals in order to detect the birds from a minimum distance of 300 m-500 m radius from the wind turbine.
This could possibly prevent the strike of the bird from the wind turbine.
3.2 Objectives
There are three research questions, which define the objective of the project:
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1. What are the possible technologies, which could be applied to detect the bird from a long range?
2. Which technologies would be selected to fulfill the customer’s requirements?
3. What is an architecture of the system and which algorithms are needed to prototype the solution?
There are many technologies such as Bluetooth, GPS, radar etc to detect a bird from long range. The LoRa communication technology has more advantages compared to other technologies as it provides long-range communication with low- power consumption. This prototype has two components, that is, the transmitter ans a receiver. The transmitter is attached to the bird and receiver is fixed on the windmill. Using this technology, the bird can be detected from a range of 300 m to 500 m from the windmill, which makes it easier for the user to monitor the bird’s flight.
3.3 Main Contributions
In this project, the Bird Monitoring System is designed using User Driven Design approach. The LoRa technology based system modelled and implemented. The prototype is paired with a mobile application and also a web interface for easy access for the user to monitor the bird.
Long range bird detection makes it easier to detect the bird from a long range and prevent its collision with the wind turbines by deterring the birds. By doing so, the rate of bird mortality can be decreased to a greater extent and also ensures bird safety in the vicinity of the wind farms. The LoRa technology has been selected as it has more advantages compared to other possible radio technologies.
LoRa offers long-range communication up to 15 km, it uses low current and power and it has a battery life of more than 10 years.
The real-time application of this project can be extended to protect the birds which are rare and big whose dimensions are a length of more than 70 cm and the predator species, which live in the vicinity of the wind farm. But this project cannot be applicable to small birds and migration birds, as the transmitter has to be placed on them, and the small birds would not be able to carry out that weight.
The work was divided equally and the authors have successfully fulfilled their parts. Analysis and selection of technologies, Survey of Related Works, hardware connection setup, Arduino Programming, mobile application design, web interface design with CSS, along with writing parts of Chapter 1, Chapter 4, Chapter 5,
and Chapter 6 in the report have been done by Raashita. The web interface, mobile application, HTML code, Arduino programming, schematic diagram, circuit diagram along with writing parts of Chapter 1, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 have been done by Kiran.
Design and Modelling
Internet of Things (IoT) generally refers to vast number of things, which are connected to the internet to exchange data with other devices. It represents scenarios where network connectivity and computing capability extends to objects, sensors and everyday items, which are not digital. IoT allows these devices to generate, exchange and consume data with minimal human intervention. In other words, IoT allows devices to connect to the internet for the exchange of data and cloud technology is used to store the data. Basically, the concept of IoT is combining the computers, sensors and networks to monitor and control the devices. These IoT devices or machines range from the smart coffee maker, wear- ables like smart watches to the smart home that is fully automated with sensors [6].
The Internet of Things provides an opportunity for research and is a promising area to bring significant changes to the world. To build an IoT project, connecting devices and data (cloud) platform through the Internet infrastructure are essen- tial along with Arduino which is a micro controller broad that connects all the components together [38]. An illustration of Internet of Things working flow as shown in Figure 4.1.
This project has been implemented using the concept of IoT. Arduino Uno has been used along with the LoRa transceiver modules. The LoRa modules have been connected the the Arduino Uno boards each and have been used as the transmitter and the receiver respectively. The transmitter beacon, which is designed with the Arduino and the LoRa module has been attached to the bird and the receiver beacon has been fixed to the windmill.
Using radio technology, the LoRa modules emits radio frequencies, which are detected by the receiver on the windmill. This received signal information is sent to the mobile application via the web interface and the ESP8266 WiFi module.
The code has been implemented on the Arduino IDE. The concept of Internet of Things has been used in order to protect the bird by detecting it and the user can monitor the bird from anywhere around the world along long as he is connected the Internet and has the mobile application.
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Figure 4.1: An illustration of Internet of Things working flow
"Adapted from Data-Flair" [39]
4.1 User Driven Design
The User Driven Design (UDD) is a framework of the design processes including the user into workflow and functionalities definition, which depict the possible technologies and algorithms. It is used to receive more specific information about the system to be designed and its functionalities and requirements.
UDD gives detailed information about the planning, design procedure, and most importantly, technologies involved. This makes it easier for the user to get a clear understanding of the project and its final product in detail, moreover, this approach includes user in several steps of design process. The generic design methodology flowchart for the User Driven Design is shown in Figure 4.2. The User Driven Design can be shown in a tabular form as it could be easy and compact. The User Driven Design for this project is shown in Table 4.1.
The design process of this thesis is based on work described in [40]. The systematic methodology of the UDD presented there explains step by step the process of the UDD, which consists of two parts, i.e, the problem formulation and the product development. What is important in this methodology "To avoid the omission of any important aspects of the designed system, the stakeholder’s, future user’s and designer’s perspectives are taken into consideration at each stage of the design process" [40].
Figure 4.2: A flowchart of the design methodology in general
"Adapted from IoT-Based Information System for Healthcare Application: Design Methodology Approach" [40]
Table 4.1: User Driven Design table for bird monitoring using radio technology.
Functionalities
Constraints Possible
General Itemised technologies
Monitoring
Possible long range till 10 km
Secure, End to End LoRa, Blue- tooth, RFID, WIFI,GPS, Radar Localisation Outdoor(In
Wind Farms)
5%-10% accuracy LoRa,GPS, Bluetooth Bird identifica-
tion
Birds flight and distance from windmill
validity>95% LoRa,RFID, Bluetooth
Control Easy to handle Fast Half-Duplex
Serial Peripheral Interface
User Interface LEDs Convenient,Reliable LED Internet applica-
tion
Secure, End to End HTML,CSS,JS
The following is the summary of the User Driven Design table:
• The table has been divided into three main sections, i.e, Functionalities, Particular constraints and the Possible technologies and algorithms.
• The Functionalities section has been divided into two other parts, which are the general and itemised functionalities, which represent the main parameter and more specific details respectively.
• In the Particular constraints section, each parameter’s security, accuracy, validity, convenience etc are described.
• In the Possible technologies section, as the name suggests, describes the possible technologies for implementation and the algorithms are stated.
• As shown in Table 4.1, the possible technologies for the parameters in this project are LoRa, RFID, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, Radar etc.
• In the last row, i.e, the User Interface, two actuators are mentioned, they are the LED’s and the Mobile Application.
• The LED on the transmitter indicates that the message is being sent and the LED on the receiver side indicates that the message has been received, and it glows only when the bird has been detected 500 m from the windmill.
• The mobile application and the web interface have been created with the HTML, CSS, JavaScript Languages and are hosted as a PHP file in the localhost.
4.2 Model of the System
This section focuses the modelling of the system, it explains the block diagram, describes the workflow of the system.
4.2.1 Block Diagram
The block diagram is a diagram, which represents the different parts of the circuit in blocks connected by arrows or lines to represent the relationship between the parts. In electronics, the block diagram gives a basic overview of all the required components used in the project and pictorially explains their connections.
In this project, the transmitter is attached to the bird and the receiver is fixed to the windmill. Both transmitter and receiver contain a LoRa transceiver module and an Arduino Uno. Whenever the data from the transmitter is received by the receiver on the windmill, the LED glows up indicating the presence of the bird.
Then the data would be displayed on the web interface and the mobile application, which can be accessed from anywhere around the world. A buzzer is also added in the transmitter side as it would be beneficial in case the transmitter is not found or lost, but it’s application is not as significant as the buzzer in the receiver’s side, hence it is not mentioned on the block diagram. The block diagram of this project is shown in Figure 4.3.
Figure 4.3: Block diagram including transmitter and receiver
4.2.2 Solution Flowchart
A flowchart diagrammatically represents the workflow of a certain process. It represents the algorithm or the step-by-step procedure in a diagram format for clear and detailed understanding. The flowchart uses various symbols to describe the process, which are connected by lines or arrows in order to represent the flow of work. Given in Figure 4.4 is the flowchart representing the workflow of the bird monitoring system.
Figure 4.4: Flowchart representing the workflow of the bird monitoring system
4.3 Background of Distance Measurement with RSSI
This section represents the general theoretical method of calculating the RSSI value and focuses mainly on how the distance between transmitter and receiver is calculated using the RSSI value. RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator. It estimates the power level of the receiving signal of a radio frequency device. In other words, the relative quality of a received signal is represented by the measurement of RSSI. The signal strength affects the function of the wireless network. The throughput of the data decreases with the increase in distance be- tween the transmitter and the receiver. Therefore, the signal strength is inversely proportional to the distance between the transmitter and the receiver. At larger distances, the signal gets weaker and the wireless data rate gets slower. Higher the RSSI value, stronger the signal. The signal closer to 0 dBm is considered to be a good signal.
The RSSI can also be used to estimate the distance between the transmitter and the receiver with the help of signal strength. Basically, the RSSI distance measurement method gives the distance between the transmitter beacon node and the receiver beacon node.RSSI is the intensity of the received signal; its value can be calculated by the following formula [41]:
RSSI = Pt+ G − Pf. (4.1)
where Pt is the transmitter signal power, G is the antenna gain, Pf is the path loss.
But for a moving object consider d is the distance in meters, x, the RSSI is measured by the device and y is the reference RSSI at 1 m. A, B, and C are constants. then the distance can be measured by a formula [42]:
d = A ∗ (x/y)B+ C. (4.2)
In this project, the distance between the transmitter and the receiver beacon is measured with the RSSI. As the transmitter is attached to the bird, that means, the transmitter beacon is not stationary and it is continuously moving. If the signal strength of the received signal by the receiver beacon is increasing, that means the bird is moving closer to the windmill. Else, if the signal strength is decreasing, that means the bird is moving away from the windmill. According to this analysis, the approximate distance between the beacon nodes can be measured theoretically.
The distance between the transmitter beacon and the receiver beacon can be calculated by using Friss equation [43], that is:
Pr = PtGrGt(λ)2
(4dπ)2 (4.3)
where: Pr is received signal power, Pt is the transmitted signal power, Gr is the antenna gain of the receiver, Gt is the antenna gain of the transmitter,
λ is the wavelength of the propagating signal and d is the distance in meters.
Hence, the distance d can be calculated with (4.3), which is the distance between the bird and the windmill.
Implementation
This section specifies the technical details of the project and describes how the prototype is built in detail with the schematic diagram and circuit diagram along with the components used.
5.1 Schematic Diagram
The schematic diagram shows the components of a process or a circuit, which are connected by symbols and lines. A schematic diagram shows the electrical connections of a circuit in detail and it is used to trace the circuit irrespective of the size of components. The main advantage of the schematic diagram is that the circuit connections are readable as they are displayed as the pin diagrams of each component, for example, the Arduino Uno board. The schematic diagram of the transmitter and receiver for Bird Monitoring System using LoRa technology are shown respectively in Figure 5.1 and Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.1: The schematic diagram of transmitter for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology
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Figure 5.2: The schematic diagram of receiver for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology
5.2 Prototyping
The circuit diagram is more like a wiring diagram, which shows where and how the wires have been connected between the components. They represent where the wire should be connected in the actual device as well as the physical connections between the components. The circuit diagram of the transmitter and receiver for
Bird Monitoring System using LoRa technology along with the label components are shown respectively in Figure 5.3 and Figure 5.4. The implemented circuit with the transmitter and receiver is shown in Figure 5.5.
Figure 5.3: The circuit diagram of transmitter for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology.
Figure 5.4: The circuit diagram of receiver for Bird Monitoring using LoRa technology.
Figure 5.5: Implemented circuit with transmitter and receiver.
5.3 System Components
Following are the list of components, which are used for this project including short description of each:
• REYAX RYLR896 with UART Interface 868/915 MHz LoRa antenna transceiver module (x2);
• Arduino Uno (x2);
• ESP8266 WiFi module;
• LED’s (x2);
• 1 kΩ resistors (x2);
• Piezoelectric buzzer;
• Breadboard;
• 9 V batteries (optional);
• Jumper and wires.
Arduino Uno:
Arduino refers to an open-source platform to build electronics and IoT projects.
Arduino Uno is a micro-controller board, which is based on ATMega328. The Arduino board designs use a variety of micro processors and controllers. Arduino Uno board is equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output pins, which can be interfaced with various expansion boards, that is, shields, and other circuits. These boards use the serial communication interfaces and also include USB connectivity on some models. The programming for Arduino is done in C and C++ programming languages. An illustration of Arduino Uno is shown in Figure 5.6.
Table 5.1: Arduino Uno specifications [44].
PARAMETER VALUE
Micro controller AT mega328
Operating Voltage 5 V
Input Voltage (recommended) 7 V-12 V Number of Digital I/O Pins 14
Number of Analog Input Pins 6
Flash Memory 32 kB
Clock Speed 16 MHz
Figure 5.6: An illustration of Arduino Uno
"Adapted from Electrokit." [44] [45]
Piezoelectric buzzer:
A piezoelectric buzzer is an electronic device, which is used to produce a tone or sound.It usually generates beeps and alarms.It is lightweight and a low-cost product. It works by the piezo crystal, which changes it’s shape when the voltage is applied to it. When current is applied to the device, it causes the ceramic disk to contract and expand, hence generating the sound.
In this project, the piezoelectric buzzer is connected with Arduino Uno in the receiver side, which is used to let the user know that the bird has entered into the 150 m radius zone. The application of the piezoelectric buzzer in this project mimics the real-time application of a siren, which is used to deter the birds from colliding with the wind turbine. An illustration of piezoelectric buzzer is as shown in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7: An illustration of piezoelectric buzzer
"Adapted from Instructables" [46] [47]
ESP8266 WiFi Module
The ESP8266 is a WiFi microchip. It is provided with a full TCP/IP stack and micro controller capability. ESP8266 offers a complete WiFi networking solution to host the application. The ESP8266 is connected to the receiver side of the Arduino Uno in order to provide a WiFi connectivity between the Arduino and the web interface. Due to this connectivity the Arduino values have been displayed on the web interface, which was designed for this project. An illustration of ESP8266 WiFi module is as shown in Figure 5.8.
Some features of the ESP8266 WiFi module are:
• It consists of the processor L106 32-bit RISC microprocessor core running at 80 MHz.
• It has 16 GPIO Pins with Integrated TR switch, balun, LNA, power amplifier and matching network.
• Power down leakage current is less than 10 uA.
• Wake up and transmit packets in less than 2 ms.
• WiFi Direct (P2P), soft-AP with Integrated TCP/IP protocol stack.
Figure 5.8: An illustration of ESP8266 WiFi module.
"Adapted from elector schematics." [48]
LED
LED is abbreviated as the Light Emitting Device, which is used to emit light. It has many applications in the projects related to electronics and IoT. In projects including Arduino, LEDs can be programmed in the following way were the LED will turn ON if the Arduino sends a ’HIGH’ Signal and Turns OFF if Arduino sends a ’LOW’ Signal. In few programs, the communication between LED and Arduino can be with 1s and 0s, instead of ’high’ and ’low’. The Arduino itself has an on-board surface mount of LED at digital pin 13. An illustration of Light
Emitting Diodes is as shown in Figure 5.9.
In this project, the LEDs are connected to Arduino both on transmitter and receiver side. The LED on the receiver side would blink as soon as it receives the radio signal command from the transmitter side. The transmitter LED glows up, when the signal is transmitted out.
Figure 5.9: An illustration of Light Emitting Diodes
"Adapted from Electrokit." [49][50]
5.4 LoRa
LoRa (Long-Range) is a wireless radio frequency technology, which provides a long-range communication. It is a spread spectrum modulation technique that has been derived from Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS). The long range communication is created by the LoRa’s physical (PHY) silicon layer. This low-power, long-range technology is used to design LoRa modules, which are compatible with Arduino to provide Long-Range communication links [29].
Using the LoRa technology, devices can connect up to 10-15 km. It uses mini- mal power or the signal transmission, which makes it unique among all the other radio frequency communication technologies. It also has a prolonged battery life of more than 10 years. The devices, which use LoRa technology can communicate with a data rate of 50 kbps.
LoRa also has a link budget of 154 dBm, which is quite higher than that of LTE. Link budget refers to the ability of the signal to pass through the blockages
like walls, buildings etc. The higher the link budget, the better as it ensures a long range connectivity between the transmitter and receiver even when they are not in the line of sight. It has a mutual authentication between the devices with integrity protection and confidentiality.The LoRa Technology has a multitude of indus- trial applications. In this project, REYAX RYLR896 LoRa antenna transceiver Module is used, which is provided with a UART Interface 868/915 MHz. The main advantage with the LoRa Module is that, it is light-weight and as small as 2 inches, which is very light to be placed on the bird. The REYAX RYLR896 LoRa antenna transceiver module along with it’s dimensions measured in mm is as shown in Figure 5.11.
REYAX RYLR896 LoRa Antenna Transceiver Module:
The REYAX RYLR896 LoRa antenna transceiver module uses LoRa technol- ogy and has very low power consumption. This module is a transceiver, that means, it can work as a transmitter as well as a receiver. It uses the Ultra High Frequency(UHF) band for the signal transmission. It provides long-range spread spectrum communication with high interference immunity. An illustration of the REYAX RYLR896 LoRa transceiver module is shown in Figure 5.10.
Figure 5.10: An illustration of REYAX RYLR896 LoRa transceiver module [37] [51].
Figure 5.11: An illustration of LoRa module with dimensions in mm.
[37] [51].
Some of the features of REYAX RYLR896 LoRa antenna transceiver module are:
• Excellent Blocking Immunity.
• Low Power Consumption.
• 127 dB Dynamic range RSSI.
• AES128 Data Encryption.
• High Sensitivity.
• Low receive current.
• Designed with PCB integrated Antenna.
Technical specifications of REYAX RYLR896 LoRa antenna transceiver module are listed in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2: Technical specifications of REYAX RYLR896 LoRa module [37]
Item Maximum value Unit
VDD power supply 3.6 V
RF O/P power range 15 dBm
Freq range 1020 MHz
Communication range 15 km
Transmit current 43 mA
Receive current 16.5 mA
Weight 7 g
Separating temperature -40 to 85 °C
5.5 Method of Code
The communication between both the LoRa modules is through the AT commands, which are sent from the serial monitor of IDE. The LoRa module consists of two main components, one is the actual LoRa module and the other is the STM32, which is a 32-bit micro-controller. In the transmitter side the signal is passed in the following way, first the Arduino sends the data to STM32 micro-controller further the data is escalated to the LoRa module through SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) further both the LoRa modules communicate up to a distance of 15 km and 1 km from Line of Sight (LoS).
Firstly the LoRa module must be configured according the required AT Com- mands, such as the address, band, frequency, network ID etc. Some of the essential AT commands for the the configuration in sequence are as follows:
1. “AT+ADDRESS” is used to set ADDRESS.
The ADDRESS is regarded as the identification of transmitter or specified receiver. Address of each module mus be different in order to transmit and receive signals.
2. “AT+NETWORKID” to set the ID of LoRa network.
The module can communicate with each other only by setting them on the same NETWORKID. Recommended value: 1-15.
3. "AT+BAND” to set the center frequency of wireless band.
The transmitter and the receiver are required to use the same frequency to communicate with each other. It is important to note that LoRa uses license- free radio frequency bands like 433 MHz, 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in Australia and North America, and 923 MHz in Asia.
4. "AT+PARAMETER" is used to set the RF wireless parameters.
The transmitter and the receiver are required to set the same parameters
to communicate with each other. The syntax of this AT command is AT+PARAMETER=<Spreading Factor>, <Bandwidth>, <Coding Rate>,
<Programmed Preamble>.
The parameters are as follows:
• <Spreading Factor>: The larger the SF is, the better the sensitivity is.
But the transmission time will take longer.
• <Bandwidth>: The smaller the bandwidth is, the better the sensitivity is. But the transmission time will take longer.
• <Coding Rate>: The coding rate will be the fastest if setting it as 1.
• <Programmed Preamble>: Preamble code. If the preamble code is bigger, it will result in the less opportunity of losing data. Generally, preamble code can be set above 10 if under the permission of the transmission time.
5. "AT+SEND" is used to send data to the specified ADDRESS. The syntax is as follows: "AT+SEND"= <ADDRESS of receiver>, <Payload length>,
<Data>
5.6 RSSI Measurement
Apart from the theoretical measurement mentioned in Section 4.3, the RSSI value can also be obtained from the serial monitor of the Arduino IDE. Firstly in the transmitter code, communication between the transmitter and receiver LoRa modules is set up using the AT Commands.
The AT command used to send the transmitter to the receiver is "AT+SEND".
The syntax of this command is AT+SEND=<Address>,<Payload Length>,<Data>.
Here, <Address> means the Address of the receiver ranging from 0-65535, <Pay- load Length> means number of bytes of the data sent (Maximum 240 bytes) and
<Data> is the data in the ASCII format are to be written in the above format in the transmitter code in order to send the required data to the receiver.
When the data is received by the receiver, then on the serial monitor the receiver responds back with a +RCV response. The syntax of this response is:
+RCV=<Address>,<Length>,<Data>,<RSSI>,<SNR>. Here,
• <Address> - Transmitter Address ID;
• <Length> - Data Length;
• <Data> - Data;
• <RSSI> - Received Signal Strength Indicator;
• <SNR> - Signal-to-noise ratio.
For example, if the module received the ID Address 100, which is sent in 2 bytes data, whose content is "HI" string, then the response from the receiver would be something like +RCV =100,2,HI,-99,40. From the above syntax of the +RCV response, the RSSI is -99 dBm, SNR is 40 dB.
In this project, the RSSI is calculated through the Arduino IDE serial monitor, where it is specified in the+RCV signal on the receiver’s side. The signal strength closer to 0 dBm are the strongest and -120 dBm are the weakest. The normal range of signals is from -45 dBm to -87 dBm. In this project, after experimenting with the distances and the signal strengths, the following results are expected:
• When the distance of the bird from the windmill is more than 500 m, then the signal strength is extremely weak and the value lies between -98 dBm to -126 dBm.
• When the bird is closer to the windmill the, the signal strength is expected in the range of -50 dBm to -75 dBm.
Hence, in this way the RSSI value is obtained and the distance between the bird and the windmill could be predicted.
5.7 Web Interface
The web interface is created by using the HTML and it is designed using CSS and the rest logic is written JavaScript. These languages are used to create the web interface to display the bird monitoring status. An ESP8266 WiFi module is used to transfer the serial output of the Arduino to the mobile application via the web interface.
To transfer the Arduino values to the web interface, an IP address is generated by the ESP8266 module, which is used to extract the Arduino values and display it on the web. When the IP address is obtained by using the WiFi module, the bird can be monitored from anywhere around the world via the mobile application by using the web view and the URL of the HTML page we can access the coffee maker from anywhere around the world. Not only the Local Area Network (LAN), but we just need an internet connection to monitor the bird from anywhere around the world, which makes remote bird monitoring possible.
In the web interface, the required parameters and the status of the bird has been listed in a tabular format as shown in the figure. Whenever the receiver
detects a bird, which is 500 meters far from the windmill, then the Alert-1 param- eter shows up as the "Bird Detected!" and also specifies the bird name and its ID (address of the transmitter LoRa Module). In accordance with the RSSI values obtained, when the bird reaches the 100 meter radius, the ALERT-2 shows up as the "Bird is in the 150 m radius", and based on these alerts, necessary action has to be taken in order to protect the bird by preventing it’s collision with the windmill.
The following figures show the different responses in the web interface with three different cases:
1. Case-1: When no bird is detected as shown in Figure 5.12.
2. Case-2: When bird is detected and is 500 m away from the windmill. Here, suppose that a white stork bird has been detected with its ID as 10 as shown in Figure 5.13.
3. Case-3: When bird is detected and is 150m away from the windmill. Here, when the bird reaches the 150 m radius of the windmill, then the ALERT-2 shows up and necessary action needs to be taken in order to protect the bird as shown in Figure 5.14.
Figure 5.12: Case1- When no bird is detected.
Figure 5.13: Case2- When bird is detected and is 500 m away from the windmill.
Figure 5.14: Case3- When bird is detected and is 150 m away from the windmill.
5.8 Mobile Application
A mobile application has been designed for this project in order to enable Remote Bird Monitoring. Basically, the user can be anywhere around the world and can still be aware of what is going on in the wind farm through this mobile application, until there is an Internet connection.
Connection of web page to mobile phone is done using ESP2866 Ethernet shield over Arduino board. An IP address is generated to the WiFi module, which is further used to create web page for displaying the values of the LoRa module’s RSSI readings. In this way the user can monitor the bird via internet or through the mobile phone.
The web page is created by using the HTML and it is designed using CSS and the rest logic is written in JavaScript. These languages are used to create the web page to display the LoRa RSSI values obtained from Arduino, which is placed on the receiver on the windmill.
The following figures show the real-time mobile application that has been designed for this project.
• Figure 5.15 shows the description of the mobile application, which specifies the storage data, the data usage etc.
• Figure 5.16 is the first screen that appears immediately when the app icon on the homepage of the mobile is pressed. This mobile application has a user authentication with the login system, which ensures the data encryption, which makes the app more secure and reliable to the user.
• Figure 5.17 is the second screen of the app. It shows up when the Log-In button of the first screen is pressed. This page takes time check the user’s data and also to refresh the data from the web. It refreshes in approximately 5 seconds before the third screen appears.
• Figure 5.18 is the third and the final screen of the mobile application. This is the most important screen with all the required data. It is basically the web view of the web interface specified in Section 5.7. The background image is deleted in the application due to the memory issues with the Arduino.
Figure 5.15: App description Figure 5.16: User-Login
Figure 5.17: Second screen of the app Figure 5.18: Web view on the app
Validation
This section elaborates the workflow of the project by describing the step by step method and the aim of the project. This section deals with the actual procedure of the project including how to configure the LoRa Module with the AT commands and the way they are used to communicate with each other along with the required parameters. The RSSI values are taken a note of and are used as reference points in order to estimate approximately how far the bird is from the windmill and how likely it is to be affected, so that necessary action is taken to protect it by preventing it’s collision with the windmill.
6.1 Method
This section elaborates the workflow of the project. Firstly, the main aim of the project is to build a Bird Monitoring System based on the radio technology. LoRa technology is used to build the prototype consisting a transmitter and a receiver in order to provide communication between the bird and the windmill respectively.
The LoRa technology is used in order to detect the bird from a long range, such as 300 m-500 m away from the windmill. The working of this prototype is described in the following steps:
1. The transmitter is attached to the bird and the receiver is fixed to the windmill.
2. Whenever bird approaches towards the wind farm and is at a distance of 500 m from the windmill, then the transmitter beacon placed on the bird gets active and transmits a radio signal.
3. Then LED of receiver beacon, which is fixed on the windmill glows up, indicating that the bird has been detected.
4. This message is passed to the mobile application via the web view of the web interface and the data is stored in the database.
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5. When the bird further approaches towards the windmill, and enters the 150 meter radius zone from the windmill, then the piezoelectric buzzer starts beeping.
6. Then the Alert message is sent to the user via the mobile application.
7. In extreme conditions, when the bird is closer to the windmill, then the windmill has to be stopped in order to avoid the collision and then can be turned ON again after the bird has crossed the 150 meters radius.
Here, the piezoelectric buzzer is used to mimic the functionality of a siren. Accord- ing to many research papers, it was mentioned that the birds hate alarm sounds such as siren, Therefore, a bird deterrent system can be made out of it. Also, the use of strobe lights can scare the birds, and divert their path by pretending that there is a danger [8] [52]. The siren and strobe lights can be added as a future work.
6.2 Experiment with Final Measurements
An experiment has been conducted in order to measure the distance using the RSSI values. The reference points are supposed to be located at two points, i.e 150 m and 500 m from the windmill. Taking these two distances as the reference points, two alert signals are given in the web interface. Basically, if the bird 500 m far from the windmill, then the Alert-1 appears, indicating the bird status at 500 m and when the bird reaches 150 m radius, considering the windmill as the center point then Alert-2 is indicated, which means that the bird is approaching towards the windmill at a faster pace and necessary action needs to be taken in order to protect the bird by preventing its collision with the wind turbine.
Before experimenting, the LoRa Module has been configured with certain AT commands. The AT commands for the transmitter are as follows:
1. AT+ADDRESS = 10;
2. AT+NETWORKID = 2;
3. AT+BAND = 915000000;
4. AT+PARAMETER = 12,7,1,4;
5. AT+IPR = 115200;
6. AT+MODE = 0.
NOTE: In case of receiver LoRa module configuration, all the AT commands are the same, except the Address. The address of the receiver LoRa module is set to be AT+ADDRESS = 9.
AIM:
To observe the RSSI values at three different cases, when the transmitter and receiver are placed at distances more than 500 m, at 500 m, at 150 m.
APPARATUS:
The required components for this experiment include a 10000 mAh power bank, a Laptop with Arduino IDE and the transmitter beacon and receiver beacon using REYAX RYLR896 LoRa module and Arduino.
PROCEDURE:
• In this experiment, all the equipment has been taken outdoors and was tested.
• The transmitter and receiver beacons were placed at two different reference points A and B, which were 500 m apart with the line of sight.
• The transmitter was plugged in to a 10000 mAh power bank and the receiver’s Arduino was connected to a laptop as the RSSI values had to be monitored on the Arduino IDE.
• When the transmitter was plugged in with the power bank, it started to transmit the data with a blink of the LED.
• As the LED on the receiver side also started blinking, that means the data was received by the receiver.
OBSERVATIONS:
The observations of this experiment have been classified into three different cases.The RSSI values can be seen as the fourth position on the +RCV signal on the serial monitor. Usually the RSSI values are negative values, where the value that closer to zero means a strong signal and vice-versa. The following are the observations of this experiment:
1. CASE-1: Bird detected at 500 m distance.
The RSSI value when the components where placed 500 m apart was ap- proximately in the range of -120 dBm to -108 dBm, which represents a weak signal due to larger distance between the transmitter and receiver. This is when the ALERT-1 parameter shows up in the web interface. An illustration of the serial monitor where the received signal is observed can be seen in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1: Received signal on the Arduino Serial Monitor for CASE-1.
2. CASE-2: Bird at 150 m distance.
The RSSI value when the transmitter and receiver were placed 150 m apart, was approximately in the range of -79 dBm to -56 dBm. This is when the ALERT-2 parameter shows up in the web interface. An illustration of the serial monitor where the received signal is observed can be seen in Figure 6.2.
3. CASE-3: No Bird detected.
When the transmitter and receiver were placed at a distance more than 500 m, then no signal was received, that means no bird was detected. This case occurs when there is barely any signal to receive. The RSSI values observed at this distance are approximated to be less than -124 dBm, which is extremely weak signal. The RSSI values are observed through the Arduino IDE serial monitor from the receiver side and the required values with reference points of 500 m and 150 m have been noted. An illustration of the serial monitor where the received signal is observed can be seen in Figure 6.3.
Here, there is no +RCV signal, that means the signal has not been received and the distance between the transmitter and receiver is long.
Figure 6.2: Received signal on the Arduino Serial Monitor for CASE-2.
Figure 6.3: Received signal on the Arduino Serial Monitor for CASE-3.
